One
night, so the story goes, an apprentice cook named Xaver
Loibner could not sleep. The next day, April 28, 1873,
Emperor Francis Joseph himself was to inaugurate the
"Imperial and Royal Court Hotel".

For
the grand occasion, the best cooks of the monarchy had
created culinary marvels including cakes that made
everybody's mouths water.

Xaver
Loibner stood by, green with envy. If only he, too, could
create a cake for his beloved Emperor . . .

Late
that night he went into the kitchen and started to work.
Early the next morning he had come up with the first
rectangular chocolate cake in culinary
history.

And
as fate would have it, of all the cakes on display the
Emperor chose Xaver's unconventional creation. He tasted and
said, "That was very good; I enjoyed it very
much".

From
the onward, the "Imperial Torte" was exclusively reserved
for His Majesty and the select few who enjoyed his
particular esteem.